Train Simulator Classic Core Update Feedback - Dx12 Experimental Build

Careful Cyclone!!!

Packing assets requires pre checks! No special characters in filenames and no script calling another script. The reason why routes like Karlsruhe-Strasbourg comes with extra unpacked assets next to the .ap.

Believe me I've spent a lot of time on the matter, and written a PowerShell script that checks for .ap packing validity. That was when I was running from an HDD, and the impact was huge.

On an SSD and to avoid Steam verifications, I'd generally advise to leave stuff as it is unless you know exactly what you're doing. (Though packing the route files is harmless.) But careful when touching assets, and be aware that installers like AP's will fail if they don't encounter the assets in their original format, where Geos are to be extracted or copied. AP's installer won't tell you it failed. Then you wonder why stuff is missing or trains can't be placed onto the track in the editor.

 

It's not a scenario stutter. It's anytime you travel south into San Bernardino, when SB spawns, it takes a mammothly long time to load the assets and the game literally freezes for a good while. I could do a video demonstration.

I had it happen at Leipzig as well on the Dresden-Leipzig route, and for scenery loads along the path, but this was on high quality. That route seems fine on Medium at last check. But San Bernardino on Medium is still a mess.

 

Okay, so running the F7 scenario on CP, I did notice a big gap.
I did get a pause of roughly 1 second, which is way beyond the usual tile load stutters of about 0.1s.
Since I'm running Task Manager, note the GPU gap (also Disk):

I took a screenshot at the location (paused about a second after the stoppage):

It's survivable, but definitely a slowly loading asset or something. There aren't many trains in the yard either.

 

I am not experiencing any of that at all - there is no such thing as a "slow loading asset" in the 2007 lo-fi RailSimulatorUS pack. Slow loading would mean a high poly count, which you definitely won't find in Kuju DLC. They had self imposed polygon limits for locos and wagons.

Check your background tasks. Many PCs come with a lot of preinstalled bullshit, AV scanners that affect performance, etc. Something is misconfigured. And still a (probably annoying) reminder that laptops are not supported by the game. There is reasons for that.

 

The screenshot is the exact spot three bridges out of San Bernardino yard. I get it there. Take a trip south from the mountain.

 

No idea what the purpose is (I think it's evaluating a laptop model, not a DLC), but let's state the facts.

We're playing the same route.
We're running on different hardware and software (OS, background tasks) (and Cyclone you have not given specs of your system, therefore info is useless )

Conclusion?

 

I'm confused - I thought this was the AMD thread, why is this in the DX12 thread? Lately some people seem to have hijacked a lot of threads.

As for DX12 - I don't use it. It has performance issues, that's an experimental thing. No sense digging further. Use RailWorks64.exe - case closed

 

You misunderstand, this installation is away from the steam updating architecture so it is permanently offline and can't be. Hence the question.

 

You're not able to play the game offline until it updates now?

Interestingly, I just Googled, and this seems to indeed be the case, even offline. That's a pain in the crock.

 

Yes I do play it, I just want to know how to update it to the current version manually without borking all my third party mods by shoving everything into ap files which steam will do.

 

I don't think anyone can help you there, as you have a custom non standard installation which would need to look at each individual file. (and there's millions.)

Due to unpacking .ap, it can't be distinguished anymore what is original and what is mod. If you hadn't done so, you'd only need to replace the .aps and just backup the external folders.

What you have done can only be handled by yourself I'm afraid.

 

I may be a bit confused which I often are by what is said on this forum, however here any update that is in the form of a .ap has no effect on those mods that you have made that are outside the .ap and the games reads those files first so it does not do anything to your mods. The only time a mod is affected is when the original was not in a .ap to begin with and it is being replaced by a update. That would be a very rare case since almost everything coming out of Steam is in the form of a .ap except for core game items. I'm online on Steam all of the time and I have never had any mod replaced, just .ap files updated or replaced.

 

To be specific: each file that is present in an .ap and has a duplicate outside in the same virtual path (modded or not) will be removed after a verification by TS. For example, cab occlusion, cab cam mods, coupler fixes, Track EP, weather EP (Kuju Core files) will all be gone.

Same for unpacked aps: As the original files were then overwritten and lost due to unpacking, Steam will overwrite them if the depot has loose files too. (Kuju\RailSimulator - probably the heaviliest modified folder I got. US assets are in an .ap luckily, so you only need to back up the added stuff.)

This can be avoided by checking for RailWorks\verify_cache_key, this triggers the file removal and is installed when Steam detects a mismatch in the core depot, as this file itself is part of the core and gets deleted after first run - NOT by Steam (which won't remove files only redownload. Steam is just comparing and copying file depots, it is a myth that it removes your files, it's TS itself that does this (as only it can look inside the ap's.)

There's a good reason - to remove mods that crash the game and the user can't locate by themselves. And to bring the game to a state support can work with.

As you're saying, addons that bring their own unique files won't be affected. But, many addons install modified files which will then be lost and you'll get strange errors.

That's why the only thing for mart would be to let Steam verify the files.

His problem is he has an offline installation (like I have too.) This requires constant maintenance, and I am applying each update manually by letting Steam install to a dummy folder using a separate appmanifest which has all DLCs deactivated. If you let updates accumulate you'll soon lose track of what to copy.

Then I'm transferring the new files, update my main appmanifest using a text editor and update the "buildid" and "manifestid" numbers so Steam thinks it is up to date.

This way, the only one who is touching my installation is me. When something goes wrong, it's on my dummy and I can just do a verification there.

So I'm seeing an update pending, Steam set to only update when I launch. Check forums and SteamDB what is getting updated.
Steam then sets the StatusFlag in the appmanifest from 4 (all clear) to 6 (update required), as it detects outdated manifestIDs by comparing your manifest to its own.
I close Steam, rename the appmanifest and swap in my dummy one.
Restart Steam, tick the DLC that got an update.
Close Steam again, copy the files from C:\Steam.... to my E:\RailWorks folder.
Then edit my main appmanifest and update the numbers as my mini appmanifest shows and reset Status from "6" to "4" again which tells Steam no action is needed.
Finally rename them again, start Steam and all's good.

If you wait too long, it can get heavily complicated, so always apply updates when they're out. You can choose for yourself to actually copy the updated files or not for whatever reason - as long as Steam thinks you're up to date you can keep any version you like.

If you're not good at file management, it's probably the best to reinstall and apply your 3rd party addons on a clean install. Which can also solve many "strange" bugs some have that nobody can explain.

All depends how much time you wanna spend for maintaining your hobby.

Yesterday I took the time to remove all files LogMate reported as invalid data. Indeed, all those bins were useless, TS detected corruption - it's become VERY good at error checking.

Mostly PreLoads. These can lead to QuickDrives crashing for no apparent reason. There was one user complaining about Huddersfield QD crashing, only him. 100% a false preload that got selected randomly, nothing to do with the DLC itself.

 

I managed to update my offline version to the latest version after backing key folders from my earlier version all seems to have worked however I am experiencing more stutters with this version on AP's MML enhancement now?

 

Glad you've managed that. Still you are aware that AP EP installers won't install GeoPcDx files if they are not in default state (some unpacked RSC stuff, and packed DTG stuff). You will not get a message the InstallMe.bat has failed (but you can open it and follow its commands manually then.)

When using the current RailWorks64.exe, it should actually run a lot smoother than old versions. If stutters occur, they are due to the amount of AP stock in a scenario. If I'm driving my 700, racing against another one on the next track and there's oncoming AP 700's too, it can get a bit heavy on your CPU at times. What CPU you got? (GPU still plays a lesser role in TSC, as there's no advanced shaders in use.)

Run the route in Freeroam to see its performance. It's great imho considering the large amount of detailed assets and sounds, 50 to 60 FPS here on maxed settings.

 

i9 9900k.
As for the AP installers nowt is in ap files, all extracted.

 

No, I mean for example the MML installer looks for LondonGillinghamAssets.ap, BedPanLineAssets.ap etc. If these are unpacked it can not extract the Geos using 7za in the script.

Just an example - the Extra Stock packs often install repaints which will fail if you don't have the .ap, like this:

Code:

7za.exe e "%~dp0Oovee\BRClass156Pack01\BRClass156Pack01Assets.ap" "RailVehicles\Diesel\BRClass156\One\Class156_DMS.GeoPcDx"  -o"%~dp0Oovee\BRClass156Pack01\RailVehicles\Diesel\BRClass156\ScotRailSaltire" -y
7za.exe e "%~dp0Oovee\BRClass156Pack01\BRClass156Pack01Assets.ap" "RailVehicles\Diesel\BRClass156\One\Class156_DMSL.GeoPcDx"  -o"%~dp0Oovee\BRClass156Pack01\RailVehicles\Diesel\BRClass156\ScotRailSaltire" -y

You'll then find them to be invisible when selecting them in the editor and trying to place them in a scenario.

So if you want to stay trouble free - keep the files as they were delivered. If you want to mod something, you just extract the needed files instead of unpacking everything.

You can easily make backups of your added content like this (and restore it with one click). Easy to maintain and to troubleshoot. Test the route in original state - just move or rename the folders. I could do a full reinstall and only drag my backup folder onto RailWorks to have everything back again with a single mouseclick.

This is called non-destructive modding (override instead of overwrite) and was invented by John Carmack (id Software, the Doom guy)


You know what happens if you have unpacked all assets and Steam puts an updated .ap inside? It will be ignored and you'll not see the updated files, as your unpacked stuff will override it. That's why it's working hand in hand with the TS routine that then deletes these unpacked files after a Full Verification is triggered on detection of core depot manipulation.

Hope that solves some of the ongoing myths about the verification.

Steam detects mismatch - orders verification via manifest flag - redownloads content, which installs the verify_cache_key from 24009 depot IF changes to that depot are detected - on first run all unpacked .ap contents will be deleted on TS launch - TS deletes verify_cache_key and sends a "done" message to Steam. Steam resets flags to 4 (OK) in the appmanifest.

I've seen crazy stuff - people renaming RailWorks64.exe to RailWorks.exe. This is part of the core depot - and these people will be constantly harassed by these Steam Full Verifications plus file deletion then. They are triggering this themselves and blame it on TSC, while others wonder and say "everything OK here, update successful and all is still here."

On Rail-Sim.de they say, "TS is doing what it wants". Which is not the case. It's code. IF THEN ELSE. Those people just mess around with the wrong stuff and do not understand how Steam works. You trigger it - it does what it's supposed to be doing - restoring the game.

They are trying to change the background by replacing loading_external.TGA and jpg, which agains modifies core files, instead of just placing a custom write protected file named "background.jpg" into the folder, which TS will happily use then. Override not Overwrite. Some people are not aware how to use Google, and especially on Rail-Sim.de I've seen a lot of wrong instructions. That community is thus plagued by issues nobody else can reproduce and then the usual "DTG don't care" rants where absolutely not appropriate. The Steam Verification was made exactly for users like over there, as they are touching stuff where they don't know about the consequences.

As long as you stay away from altering core files, you'll not get these auto verifications. Manipulate individual DLC folders and Steam won't care unless you tell it to. (Note that AP does and has to modify them for the WeatherEP - a price to pay. Reinstall after verification - or keep a manually maintained version away from Steam.)

 

All very interesting Spike old bean, but my installation sees nothing inside of ap files hence the away from steam online copy. Most of what you describe above was mostly incoming.

 

So then old chum, after all that tech babble, let's enjoy a run on the MML. Cheers!

 

Indeed. much fun was had.

 

Only a minor issue which I don't think has been mentioned before but on DX12 Experimental on the main screen the latest offer and featured offer don't show and the Store and Community buttons are greyed out.